Democratization in the Czech Republic FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Since a handful of environmental activists helped to bring down the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the arena of environmental politics has offered a valuable lens on the transition process, providing a unique insight into the contradictory and highly contingent relationship between democratization and neo-liberalism." "Environment and Democracy in the Czech Republic offers a radical perspective on the democratisation process, revealing the extent to which the consolidation of a politically efficacious and diverse civil society is far more complex than the earlier generation of commentators acknowledged. The environmental movement has not flourished under political democracy; its radical activists have been marginalised and targeted by the state, their ideologies and strategies compromised and their critical voice silenced. Yet the book concludes that whilst the mainstream environmental movement has become institutionalised and appears incapable of representing community interests, the environmental issues retains the capacity to mobilise, this time against the neo-liberal of the democratic government." This definitive account of the evolution of the Czech environmental movement since 1990 offers a racial evaluation of the institutions and practice of political democracy, and challenges some of the certainties of social movement theory. Although focused on the Czech Republic, the book will undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of the role of environmental movements within contemporary politics throughout the world. It will be welcomed by political and social scientists with an interest in Central and Eastern Europe, and academics and students with an interest in environmental politics.
SYNOPSIS
Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, the Czech environmental movement developed from a handful of dissident activists to politically prominent movement comprised of diverse organizations and strategies. Interested in what the movement reveals about the process of regime change from authoritarian rule to political democracy, Fagan (politics, Queen Mary, U. of London, UK) traces the history of the organizations, their activities and their interactions, concentrating on the movement during the first decade of post-communist politics, but including discussion its history from the nineteenth century onwards. In a final chapter, he considers specific environmental organizations as case studies answering questions regarding professionalism, radicalism, the involvement of external organizations, and the impact of funding. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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